Number of hotels close to saturation point in the capital

Dublin is close to reaching the quota of hotels which it requires to meet demand, according to the Irish Hotels Federation. This year, 21 hotels are expected to be opened or extended, resulting in an extra 2,253 rooms. The number of available rooms will stand at almost 10,000 by the end of the year, compared with 6,800 at the start of 1997.

"I think that we are very close to reaching a position where demand and supply will cross over and around 10,000 rooms is probably the maximum that Dublin can take," says John Power, chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation.

"The international tourism market is very competitive and that is why we would have concerns about the £3 per night bed tax proposed by Dublin Corporation. That could be the catalyst which sends the whole tourism boom into reverse and hopefully it will never happen."

As Ireland's tourism boom continues, St Helen's House in Booterstown, Co Dublin, will operate as a 151-bedroom Radisson SAS hotel. The £20 million hotel opens its doors next Monday.

Seven hotels will be built in Cork, six in Kerry, four in Galway, and three in Wexford. Counties Carlow, Louth, Mayo, Meath and Wicklow will each get two additional hotels, with the total number of new hotels around the country standing at 60.

A multi-million complex is to be built on the de Burgh estate at Oldtown in Co Kildare. Last month, Naas Urban District Council passed a material contravention to give planning permission to the scheme.

Prior to last year's Budget, capital allowances allowed individuals and companies to write-off their investment in hotels at a rate of 15 per cent per year over the first six years and at 10 per cent for the seventh year. A substantial number of hotels were opened as a result of investments by high-earning individuals.

However, in the main, capital allowances are now available only to corporate bodies and those individuals operating hotels.

"The availability of capital allowances gave us the impetus to develop the hotels we now have. Having said that, there was also a feeling that the brakes needed to be applied," says Mr Power.

Among the hotels to have already opened in Dublin city centre this year is the Schoolhouse in Northumberland Road, Ballsbridge. The 31-bedroom hotel is situated in the former St Stephen's Parish Schools, which first opened in 1861 and was designed by Thomas Deane and Benjamin Woodward. The building was bought last year from Treasury Holdings for around £1.5 million by Galway businessman Terry Sweeney.

Other additions include the Fitzwilliam in St Stephen's Green, into which chef Conrad Gallagher is moving his restaurant, Peacock Alley; the Trinity Arch in Dame Street, Walton's in North Frederick Street and the Tallaght Plaza, in The Square.

Camden Street is shaking off its rather neglected image and now has three hotels and a number of restaurants.

The Camden De Luxe, which includes the Palace Niteclub, opened two weeks ago on the site which once housed the De Luxe Cinema and later Ricardos Snooker Hall. The Camden Court opened earlier this year, while the 28-bedroom Camden Hall, incorporating a restaurant, opened in March,1997.

"The more hotels there are in the street, the better. Within the next six months, Camden Street will become a new Temple Bar area," says Jimmy O'Reilly, one of the owners of the Camden Hall.

Other hotels which have opened or are due to open this year include: Apart-hotel, Merrion Road; Charleville Hotel, Lower Rathmines Road; Chief O'Neills, Smithfield Village, Smithfield; Curran House, Fleet Street; The Four Seasons (five-star), Merrion Road; Ibis, Monastery Road, Clondalkin; The Inn on the Green, St Stephen's Green; The Morgan, Fleet Street; Ormond Quay, 15 Ormond Quay; Regency Apartments, at Regency Airport Hotel, Drumcondra; Trinity Plaza, Townsend/Pearse Street; and Westpark Hotel, Saggart.

As yet unnamed hotels are also due to open on the corner of Harcourt Street and Cuffe Street, at Townsend Street/Pearse Street, Oscar Traynor Road, Drumcondra and Tara Street.